River Severn 2026 Migration Underway

Millions of critically endangered baby eels are already stranded along the River Severn, cut off and exhausted during their annual migration. Without help, millions of young eels will perish again.
This is a recurring ecological emergency

8/8
@EnvAgency @DefraGovUK — the survival of these eels is in your hands. Act now. Let them live.

PLEASE SHARE & REPOST — their survival depends on public pressure.

#EnvieronmentalFailure
@WWF_UK@Ofwat
@EnvAgency @DefraGovUK

7/8
If these eels are euthanised, it will be needless killing of a species humans fought to save. This is not conservation — it’s extinction by paperwork.

#EuropeanEel #RiverSevern
#EelCrisis

6/8
1 tonne of rescued, healthy eels could die simply because authorisation is withheld. That’s a species on the edge, destroyed by inaction.

@ISEALAlliance
#EelDeal2030
#AgriFish

5/8
These eels should be restocked across UK rivers and wetlands, helping rebuild populations that have collapsed. Denying this is actively killing them.

@Telegraph
@TheSun
@itvnews.bsky.social

4/8
Think about that: people rescue them, nurture them for a year — and bureaucracy could still kill them. This is preventable destruction of a species.

#SaveTheEels
#Greenwashing
#ICES

3/8
But the Environment Agency won’t allow them to be restocked. Instead, these eels may be euthanised — healthy, critically endangered, and saved by humans.

@DanSaladinoUK
@EUCommission

2/8
Last season, fishermen rescued 100kg of trapped baby eels (glass eels). They were cared for by UK Glass Eels — no profit, just survival.
One year later, those rescued eels have grown to 1 tonne. They are healthy, fully checked, and ready to return to the wild.

@EU_ENV
@CITES
#EelCrisis

“Bureaucracy Kills Eels”

1/8
SHARE & REPOST — 1 Tonne of Critically Endangered Eels Could Be Destroyed
The European eel is critically endangered. Millions migrate up the River Severn every year — yet most are trapped by man-made barriers. A species on the brink is being blocked to death.

SEGs Failure

The EA has confirmed that without markets it will not issue authorisations. This means no restocking, and millions of critically endangered baby eels in the River Severn will once again be trapped and left to die this season.

@DefraGovUK
@EnvAgency

SEG’s failure.

UV surveys expose an annual wildlife crime on the River Severn: critically endangered glass eels trapped, abandoned, and left to die. A conservation disaster caused by negligence. It’s criminal.

@DefraGovUK @CITES
@EnvAgency

SEGs Failure

UV lighting exposes an annual wildlife crime on the River Severn. Critically endangered glass eels trapped and abandoned to die. This is negligence. This is preventable — yet allowed to continue. Enough.

@DefraGovUK @CITES
@EnvAgency

SEGs Failure

Should this be allowed in the River Severn?
Critically endangered glass eels trapped, exhausted, and left to die.
This isn’t an accident — it’s an environmental failure.

@ISEALAlliance
#EelDeal2030 @DefraGovUK
@CITES
@EnvAgency

SEGs Shield

The Sustainable Eel Group (SEG) presents itself as a conservation body.
In reality, it functions as a PR shield for continued exploitation of a critically endangered species.

#EelDeal2030
#SaveTheEels
#Greenwashing

SEGs Collapse

SEG isn’t a watchdog. Funded by the eel trade, run by commercial interests and closed governance.

Eels are Critically Endangered. Science says zero catch. SEG says keep fishing, eating and exporting. That’s collapse.

#EelDeal2030

SEGs Partner

Dupan’s attack on ICES is political, selective, and economically self-interested.
ICES’s guidance remains clear, consistent, and science-driven.
If Europe truly wants eels to survive, it must follow the science—not financial interests.

#EelDeal2030

SEGs Spin

SEG brands itself as conservation, but acts as a PR shield for exploiting a critically endangered species. Calling eel fishing “sustainable” after a 90%+ collapse is greenwashing. No farming, just wild capture. Real question isn’t “how continue?” but “why not stop?”

SEGs Deception

“After repeated failures—ISEAL suspension, court appearances, and lapsed certifications etc —the Sustainable Eel Group has gone into hiding. This exposes their false claims and a fake system built on deception.”

#EelDeal2030
#EelGate
#SaveTheEels
#Eelwashing

SEGs Myth

“Sustainable eel” is a myth.
There is no captive-bred eel.
Every farmed eel starts life ripped from the wild as a glass eel — often from critically endangered stocks — then laundered through certification and sold with a clean conscience.

#EelDeal2030
@DefraGovUK

9/9
This isn’t sustainability—it’s certification capture. When industry designs, funds, and benefits from a “green” label, it’s greenwashing. The system protects Europe’s eel trade, not the eel.

#EelDeal2030
@DEFRAUk
#Traceability
@ISEALAlliance
#SaveTheEels

8/9
This isn’t independence. It’s circular control: industry funds SEG, shapes its rules, pays for certificates, and uses the label to justify continued eel exploitation

@DavidBunt1
@WillemDekker
@ISEALAlliance
#EelDeal2030

7/9
SEG’s Eel Stewardship Fund—used for restocking and research—is partly financed and co-run by DUPAN. The industry funds the science, the restocking, and the certification that benefits it.

@EU_MARE
#ICES

6/9
SEG admits DUPAN funds “sustainable” fishing, trade, and restocking—and has paid certification renewals for Dutch firms. The industry doesn’t just participate. It bankrolls the label.

#Accountability
@DEFRA
#EelGate
#SaveTheEels

5/9
DUPAN represents Dutch eel traders, farmers, and fishers—the exact industry SEG certifies. SEG’s own documents show DUPAN embedded in SEG processes, especially writing restocking rules.

#EelCrisis
@DefraGovUK

4/9
The system runs on annual self-reporting. Critics say it invites abuse: inflated restocking figures, buried mortality, selective data. Independent population recovery is not required.

@ISEALalliance
#EelDeal2030
#AgriFish

3/9
SEG says restocking shouldn’t replace real conservation like barrier removal. Yet its certification still rewards restocking—turning a disputed intervention into a compliance shortcut.

@CITES CoP20
@EUCommission @EUCouncil

2/9
SEG-certified companies self-report mortality, handling, traceability—and restocking numbers. Those restocking figures directly boost a company’s “responsibility” score. No restocking, no clean label.

#Accountability
@EU_MARE
@EU_ENV

SEGs Circular Control

1/9
SEG claims it doesn’t issue “restocking certificates.” That’s a technical dodge. Restocking is built into the SEG Standard—allowing eel companies to sell sustainability claims off the back of stocking rivers with farmed eels.

#EelGate
#SaveTheEels